


People Like You

by karog



Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-05
Updated: 2015-04-05
Packaged: 2018-03-16 11:04:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,951
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3485879
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/karog/pseuds/karog
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After disbanding the Templar Order, lady Trevelyan comes back to Haven only to deal with Cullen's unexpected anger. Some words should have been left unsaid.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

"You disbanded the Order?! What were you thinking?!" 

He was angry. Furious. Templars were a part of his past. He may have left them but that doesn't mean he did not care about their fate. And disbanding the order? How could she? 

"I... I had to do something" she answered, surprised with this sudden attack. " _They_ had to do something and without the proper chain of command the templars would have stayed in chaos." 

They were alone in the war room. The rest of the Inquisition hasn't arrived yet. Evelyn has just got to Haven and there wasn't enough time for all of them to gather quickly. She suddenly felt that it was Cullen's intention to meet her before everyone else. Was he really that angry? She only did it because of him... 

"Don't pretend not to see other solutions! You could have brought them here and consult it with us. This decision was far too important for you to make on your own!" he couldn't stop shouting. He felt so much anger in him, boiling and ready to explode. "You could have let them stay the way they were." 

"And then what?" she asked defensively "Who would lead them? Who would tell them what to do? We need the templars to close the Breach. You said it yourself." 

"Yes, I did. I said we need _the Templar Order_ to join us. Can’t you see the difference?"

He didn’t want to be mean to her. In fact, that was the last thing he ever wanted. From the moment he saw her he felt the irresistible need to protect her. He didn’t know why and wanted to do everything to stop this feeling from growing. But he couldn’t. He knew that every time he talked to her he was falling stronger and stronger for her. This anger outburst was nothing more than a combination of his long hidden frustration and fear. Not to mention the lyrium withdrawal… 

"Cullen, please, can we just calm down and discuss this matter? I didn’t want to upset you" she was close to tears. Cullen was the first person to speak to her in a friendly way. He was the first one to ask her about her feelings, her opinion. It was shortly after coming back from Val Royeoux. She felt overwhelmed with duties thrown at her. She did not _ask_ for the mark on her hand. Cullen found her when she was hiding somewhere from all the people. She was crying and at that particular moment she wished she had died in the Temple of Sacred Ashes. It was Cullen who told her not to give up, who convinced her that she needed to be strong not for others but for herself.  
And now this? He looked at her with such fury in his eyes… She disbanded the Order because she thought that was the right thing to do. Templars were never a good solution to problems with mages. She would know that, after all she was a mage herself. Locked in the Circle her whole life, she has had many opportunities to observe the templars. She witnessed their indifference, as well as cruelty. Not all of them were like that, of course. But good templars were a minority. And so many of them fell victim to lyrium overdose.  
"No!" he cried, hitting the table with his fist. He could no longer control himself. He found himself in a trap of his own anger. Just like it was after what’s happened in Ferelden Circle… "No, you don’t understand! You are a mage! Maker’s breath, a mage who disbanded the Templar Order. Have you got any idea what it looks like?"  
She suddenly felt as if her heart was stabbed with a sharp dagger. So that is why he is so angry…  
"I understand" she said quietly but he didn’t even hear her.  
"Templars have to exist! We need them! And not only because of the Breach, we need them to protect us from people like…" he stopped in dismay, suddenly realizing what he is saying. _‘Maker’_ he thought _‘What am I doing?’_  
"Go on. Finish the sentence" Evelyn could not believe her ears. She felt as if she was the biggest fool in the whole world. How could she have thought that he liked her? He must have been simply convinced that she needed to be watched. Just like a templar would watch a mage.  
Cullen couldn’t say a word. He did not know how to fix this mistake. He most certainly did NOT mean what he said. Hurting her wasn’t his intention, quite contrary, he wanted to prevent everyone else from causing her harm. And now the look she gave him broke his heart. She was hurt. Hurt by him  
"From people like me. That’s what you wanted to say. I get it now" she continued, feeling that her heart froze again. Just like it was frozen before all this mess.  
She turned around and went to door. He quickly ran to her and grabbed hold of her hand.  
"Evelyn, please, wait…" he mumbled.  
"No" she just said without looking at him. "I get it. You are a templar, I am a mage."  
"I didn’t mean it this way, I’m not a templar anymore, I left them, I’m sorry" he felt the cold hands of panic reaching his mind.  
"Just… just leave it" she said "What’s done is done."  
She released her hand from his grip and left. 

Both of them felt as if their hearts shattered to little pieces.


	2. 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> She is trying to find peace in her mind and trying to come up with a plan on what to do after she seals the Breach. Then, Cullen comes to apologize.

She was standing by the lake, watching the mountains, trying to find peace in her heart. But it was impossible. She was the only one who could close the Breach and save all of them. The burden she's carried on her shoulders since the very beginning, started being unbearable. She wasn't sure whether all the decisions she made were right, whether she should have done something differently... 

Fear crumpled her heart, making it hard to think clearly. She still remembered the Envy demon, his words crawling in her head like a slow poison, trying to break her. But she had to be strong, had to just go through it, seal the Breach and then... then what? She had nowhere to go. She had no family because they disposed of her as soon as they found out she had magic and with the Circle broken she had no place to call home. There was a short moment of hope in her mind when she felt she was going to make friends there, in Haven and maybe, just maybe she would have been able to stick around them, she thought. They wouldn't need her anymore after she fulfills her duty with the Breach but perhaps they wouldn't want to dispose of her like her family did.. 

But then, she remembered his cold words. She hasn't spoken to the Commander since their fight. There was always something to do as they always seemed to be busy but to be honest, she also wasn't so eager to confront him again so she was trying to avoid him. But she still remembered his words. A dangerous mage that was supposed to be observed all the time to keep everyone else safe. That's what he thought of her. 

She sighed heavily. Oh, she was so foolish to let hope arise in her heart. He would definitely want to dispose of her after everything's done. Well, there were others, of course. Leliana and Josephine were somehow trying to keep distance from her but there was Varric, always keen to amuse her with one of his stories, there was Solas, entertaining her with his tales of the Fade, there was Bull, a giant with a gentle heart, Sera with her pranks... She didn't manage to talk much with Cassandra and Blackwall but they didn't seem to be hostile towards her. There definitely were others but somehow she wished Commander Cullen to be the one to accept her, to like her and to be her friend. 

Suddenly, she heard footsteps behind her and quickly turned around, ready to face any intruders. She felt paralyzed when she saw it was Cullen himself, approaching her with a concerned look. She lowered her head and tried to escape, tried to pass him without a word, or maybe just tell him she was busy. 

"No, please!" he cried when he noticed her intentions. She froze. "Please, just... can we talk?" he asked her and she finally forced herself to look at him. Maker, he was so handsome. She could have just drowned in his eyes, forgetting the world, forgetting the Breach, the damned mark on her hand... 

"What do you want to talk about, Commander?" she asked, her voice cold as ice. 

"Well... I just..." he started, rubbing his neck nervously. She waited patiently for him to finish the sentence. "Look, Evelyn" he said, using her first name, which made shivers go down her spine. Oh, how she loved the sound of her name coming out of his mouth. "I apologize" he finally choked and quickly grabbed her hand. She just stood there, unable to say anything. She actually wasn't entirely sure she heard him right. Was he trying to... say sorry? 

"I didn't mean what I said back there, I don't know where the words came from... Probably just... I don't know, a bad day..." he was mumbling, trying very hard to make his speech coherent. "I was just so... surprised to see it all happen so quickly. I spent almost my whole life in the Templar Order and it seemed just impossible to see them disbanded" 

"But you left them" she said, finally regaining her ability to speak "If they mean so much to you then why leave?" 

"Look..." he sighed with resignation "I think the decision you made was right" he admitted and she just felt more shocked "Templars were... well, they were broken long before this, you certainly know that yourself. They needed to change and you offered them that opportunity and... I am grateful. Thank you" 

He looked straight into her eyes and she suddenly felt her legs became very weak. He apologized. He truly apologized her. 

She looked away, turning her gaze towards the mountains. "So..." she started, unsure of the way she was supposed to put her thoughts into words "So you don't think I'm a monster after all?" she tried to make it sound lightly but failed miserably. 

"Maker's breath, of course not!" he exclaimed "I never thought of you this way, I promise! I think you're wonderful!" he continued and she looked at him again with her eyes wide open. She was sure this time she must have misheard him. It was impossible to hear the words coming out of him, he could never care for a mage... 

Suddenly, Cullen let her hand as if he'd just realized he was still holding it and jumped back from her. 

"I mean... wonderfully... capable... and the mark on your hand" he mumbled, staring down at his feet. 

Of course, she thought bitterly. The mark. 

"Thank you, Cullen" she said warmly, smiling at him. "It's nice to know you don't hate me" 

He smiled back at her and she just melted inside. 

_Stop it, Evelyn!_ She reprimanded herself quickly. _Do NOT fall for this man!_

"Do you want to go back? Inside, I mean, it's getting cold down here..." he spoke and she indeed felt it was getting colder. 

"Of course" she answered and he quickly offered her his arm. 

She promised herself she wouldn't fall for Cullen Rutherford. 

But it was nice to be able to enjoy his company once again.


End file.
